6th International Symposium on Innovations in Scientific Areas, Ankara, Turkey, 7 - 08 June 2024, vol.1, no.1, pp.17
Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), also known as caustic, is a powerful alkali used in various industries. It is frequently preferred in paper, chemistry, food, aluminum, water treatment, and oil refineries. Although there are studies on aquatic environments with sodium hydroxide, research on crustaceans is limited. In this study, the Unio delicatus species of Unionidae, the most common bivalve family of inland waters, was selected. This freshwater mussel species, distributed in almost all inland water resources of Türkiye, is considered a model organism for pollution studies since it shows filter-feeding characteristics.
Mussels were acclimatized for 12 days (n=60), taken from Bursa province. After the acclimation period, the digestive gland and gill tissues were dissected at the end of length-weight measurements. The levels of advanced oxidative protein products (AOPP) were analyzed in the tissues under the protocol of Witko-Sarsat et al. (1996).
AOPP levels were significantly decreased in the digestive canal for both doses at 24 hours compared to the control group (p>0.005), but no significant difference was detected between dose groups (p<0.005). In 72-hour exposures, the values were close to each other in all groups, and the differences between the groups were evaluated as non-significant (p<0,005). It is evaluated the results were compatible with some studies in the literature but not with others.
At the end of the experiment, it was evaluated that NaOH may cause oxidative stress in freshwater mussels, one of the filtering organisms of inland waters, and the continuity of monitoring studies may be crucial for the protection of diversity in freshwater ecosystems.